Adil Al Balushi
Muscat, Oct 8
The deciding round of Group C of AFC U17 Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers will take place on Sunday in which the group toppers and the second placed team will be determined in the group. Oman will meet Iraq in a tight tie and the match will start at 20:45 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex while Lebanon will meet Qatar. The match will begin at 17:00 in the same venue.
Oman team, coached by Anwar al Habsi, will look to register a win against Iraq and will wait for the other results in the group. The triumph may confirm second spot and possibly a place in the finals as one of the six best runners-up if other results in rest groups will help. Oman boys will focus first to secure a victory and then will await for the other results.
On Friday, Qatar fought back from behind to come up 2-1 winners against hosts Oman to reduce Oman's chances in securing direct spot to the Asian finals in the penultimate round of Group C U17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers. In an earlier match of the same group, Iraq revived their hopes in the qualifiers with a crucial 3-0 victory over Bahrain. The win took them to four points in the third place.
Oman boys managed to open the scoring account in the game in an early minute of the first half as Al Haitham Musallam al Shekaily took the lead in the sixth minute. Oman team ended the first half leading at 1-0.
Qatar team players entered the following half with better focus and less mistakes in the back side. Captain Bassam Adil equalised for Qatar after 10 minutes from the second half start. The equaliser encouraged the opponents to press hard towards Momen al Soli seeking for the second goal.
After series of scoring attempts, Bassam Adil returned back strongly as he netted the winner prior the match end by five minutes. The win took Qatar to seven points leading the group order and with a one point difference than Oman who is second placed with six points. Iraq are third with four points.
Oman opened their campaign with a tough 2-1 victory over Lebanon and then they registered their second consecutive win over Bahrain 2-0.
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